A botched execution is defined by political science professor Austin Sarat as: Botched executions occur when there is a breakdown in, or departure from, the 'protocol' for a particular method of execution. The protocol can be established by the norms, expectations, and advertised virtues of each method or by the government's officially adopted execution guidelines. Botched executions are 'those involving unanticipated problems or delays that caused, at least arguably, unnecessary agony for the prisoner or that reflect gross incompetence of the executioner.' Examples of such problems include, among other things, inmates catching fire while being electrocuted, being strangled during hangings (instead of having their necks broken), and being administered the wrong dosages of specific drugs for lethal injections.
List
Before 1900 {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Name ! Place of execution ! Method of execution ! Outcome ! Description |- | 1540 | Thomas Cromwell | Tower Hill, London | Beheading by axe | Died | Edward Hall wrote that "So patiently suffered the stroke of the axe, by a ragged and Boocherly miser, which very ungoodly perfourmed the office." |- | 1541 | Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury | Tower Green, Tower of London, London | Beheading by axe | Died | An inexperienced executioner reportedly hacked at her a total of 11 times before finally decapitating her. Some sources claim that Margaret refused to lay her head on the block, declaiming, "So should traitors do, and I am none"; according to the account, she turned her head "every which way", reportedly instructing the executioner that, if he wanted her head, he should take it as he could, although this may be apocryphal. |- | 1587 | Mary, Queen of Scots | Great Hall, Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire | Beheading by axe | Died | The execution took three blows. |- | 1650 | Anne Greene | Oxford Castle, Oxford | Hanging | Survived | She was found alive, in her coffin, a day after her hanging, having a faint pulse and weak breathing. Set free after failed execution. |- | 1683 | William Russell, Lord Russell | Lincoln's Inn Fields, London | Beheading by axe | Died | The executioner, Jack Ketch, later wrote a letter of apology for conducting the execution poorly. Although in the letter, Ketch blames Lord Russell himself for making the execution more difficult. |- | 1685 | James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth | Tower Hill, London | Beheading by axe | Died | Jack Ketch took between five and eight strokes to behead him. |- | 1705 | John Smith | Tyburn, London | Hanging | Survived | He survived after hanging for 15 minutes. Set free after failed execution. |- | 1724 | Margaret Dickson | Grassmarket, Edinburgh | Hanging | Survived | Survived after hanging, was later found alive in her coffin. Set free after failed execution. |- | 1740 | William Duell | Tyburn, London | Hanging | Survived | Survived the execution after being left hanging by the neck for around 20 minutes. Sentence commuted to transportation. |- | 1746 | Arthur Elphinstone, 6th Lord Balmerino | Tower Hill, London | Beheading by axe | Died | It is said that it took three blows to behead him. |- | 1757 | Robert-François Damiens | Place de Grève, Paris | Dismemberment by horses | Died | Limbs could not be torn off and had to be cut.A Primer on Crime and Delinquency Theory, Robert M. Bohm, Brenda Vogel, page 15, books.Google.com Retrieved 20 November 2015 |- | 1805 | Joseph Samuel | ParramattaNew South Wales, | Hanging | Survived | Survived three attempts to hang him. Sentence commuted to life imprisonment. |- | 1810 | Andreas Hofer | Near Porta Giulia, Mantua | Firing squad | Died | Survived first and second volley, killed by shot from close range to the ear. |- | 1812 | William Booth | Stafford, Staffordshire | Hanging | Died | Survived the first attempt to hang him after he fell through the scaffold's trap door to the floor. Died in a second hanging two hours later. |- | 1833 | Charles Getter | Getter's Island, EastonPennsylvania, | Hanging | Died | Survived the first attempt to hang him. Died in a second hanging a short time later. |- | 1845 | | Hellevoetsluis | Firing squad | Died | Charmel survived the first volley from the six-person squad, and during a second volley, one of the officers' rifles misfired. After a physician confirmed that Charmel was still alive, the officer whose gun had misfired was ordered to fire a final shot from close range. Charmel was the last person to be executed by firing squad in the Netherlands. |- | 1851 | John McCaffary | KenoshaWisconsin, | Hanging | Died | The hanging was initially unsuccessful and he strangled for approximately 20 minutes. This resulted in the abolition of capital punishment in Wisconsin. |- | 1854 | John Tapner | St Peter Port | Hanging | Died | The rope did not break his neck, and he died from strangulation after hanging for 12 minutes. |- | 1858 | | Maastricht | Hanging | Died | Witnesses reported Geurts struggling for several minutes after falling through the trapdoor. |- | 1860 | James Stephens | The TombsNew York City, | Hanging by upright jerker | Died | He contorted and gurgled before asphyxiating to death. |- | 1861 | Paula Angel | Las VegasNew Mexico Territory, | Hanging | Died | No gallows were available, so she was instead tied to a cottonwood tree and placed on a wagon attached to a team of horses. Antonio Abad Herrera, the county sheriff and executioner, did not want to tie her arms, so when the wagon began moving she was able to grab hold of the noose. Herrera attempted to pull her downward, but the crowd prevented him from doing so and cut her free. There was potential for a riot, as some in the crowd believed that she was entitled to be released, but order was maintained and the second attempt was successful. |- | 1863 | Henry Manns | Darlinghurst Gaol, SydneyNew South Wales, | Hanging | Died | The rope slipped from his neck and caught around the front of his face, causing a prolonged and agonising execution. |- | 1865 | Henry Wirz | Old Capitol Prison, WashingtonDC, | Hanging | Died | The standard drop used failed to break his neck and he died slowly due to strangulation. |- | 1870 | Thomas Scott | Upper Fort Garry, Red River Settlementpresent-day Winnipeg, Manitoba, | Firing squad | Died | The first salvo did not kill him, after he was shot once in the upper chest and once in the shoulder. He then got shot in the back of his head, but the bullet came out through the left side of the jaw. He was then put in a coffin, where he finally died. |- | 1873 | Mary Ann Cotton | Durham County Gaol, Durham | Hanging | Died | The rope was rigged too short to break her neck and she instead died slowly from strangulation. |- | 1879 | Wallace Wilkerson | Provo jail yard, ProvoUtah Territory, | Firing squad | Died | Died from bleeding 15 minutes after shots were fired but missed his heart. |- | 1879 | Joseph Mutter | BrisbaneQueensland, | Hanging | Died | Decapitated after dropping through the trapdoor because the hangman claimed the rope was 'frosty'''. |- | 1885 | John "Babbacombe" Lee | Exeter Prison, Exeter | Hanging | Survived | Survived three attempts after the trapdoor of the gallows failed to open; sentence subsequently commuted to life imprisonment. |- | 1885 | Robert Goodale | Norwich Castle, Norwich | Hanging | Died | The rope was too long and overmeasured, causing him to be decapitated. |- | 1885 | Moses Shrimpton | Worcester County Prison, Worcester | Hanging | Died | His neck muscles were weak and he was decapitated. |- | 1887 | Roxana Druse | HerkimerNew York, | Hanging | Died | The last woman hanged in the state of New York, and the first woman hanged in 40 years in Central New York. Her botched execution did not kill her instantly, further motivating New York officials to replace the gallows with the electric chair in New York. |- | 1890 | William Kemmler | Auburn State Prison, AuburnNew York, | Electric chair | Died | The first man to be electrocuted using the electric chair, the execution took eight minutes as blood vessels under the skin ruptured and bled out."Far Worse Than Hanging". The New York Times. August 7, 1890.
20th century